Century Child
by Calai'di
Summary: ABANDONED: A Vampire has come to Hogwartsas a student! And the one destined to kill him has come as well. How will they adjust to life at Hogwarts while they're trying not to kill each other? side fic to Secrets, OCs abound, eventual slash, rated for later content
1. Part I Ch I Coming to Hogwarts

AN: So, this is a side fic to my other one Background Secrets about two of my OCs (Angelo and Kiran) and the rest of their year. It'll have lots of background info, including: how Aaron and Oliver met and started dating; how the twins and Lee figured out their own love; how Angelo really gets along with the people of Hogwarts; and why Kiran didn't kill him as soon as he got the chance.

Anyway, you can read this if you haven't read my other fic, 'cause it's not really about Harry and Draco at all, but I recommed that you do so you'll at least have an idea of who these characters are.

Also, not that it's really that important, but the title is from Nightwish's album Century Child. I felt that this album fits the mood and character of this fic better than anything else. One or two chapters per part will have track names from this album as well.

Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Century Child

Part I: First Year

Chapter I: Coming to Hogwarts

A Vampire and his Hunter are always born within hours of each other, though they may be miles apart.

To make things fair, the Hunter is always born first so that their powers may be more even when they finally encounter one another. However, since this puts the Vampire at a slight disadvantage, Fate has compensated by allowing him to walk in sunlight like any normal human being. Furthermore, the Vampire and his Hunter never know who each other is until they meet and reveal their true natures to one another, though this my take years.

This tradition holds true even when the Vampire is born as a half-blood and is classified as a wizard. His Hunter will still be born before him, and he will still be sought out indefinitely.

* * *

"Now remember, Headmaster Dumbledore is being extremely generous by allowing you to attend his school," a mother was saying in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Platform Nine and Three-quarters, "so please behave yourself."

The child of this mother gave her a serene smile as he nodded in understanding, the expression causing him to practically glow. "I understand, mother. They will not have any reason to expel me."

"You are good boy, Angelo," the mother said, briefly ruffling his dark hair. Then she pressed a kiss to his forehead and gave him a gentle push. "Run along, now. The train is about to leave."

Angelo giggled at the kiss and waved goodbye as he headed over to the train to find a compartment.

As soon as he stepped into the train, however, he was on edge. He could feel that on board was another person highly attuned to the physic realm that used that power often. The presence didn't feel incredibly powerful, like a Hunter would, but the fact that he could feel this aura in the first place made him uneasy. He hastily put up a few mental shields before starting down the corridor to find an empty compartment.

However, as he moved down the train, the strange aura slowly grew stronger and he became more interested in finding it than an empty compartment. He followed it until he reached a nearly empty compartment close to the end of the train. The only person inside was a boy a year older than him who looked to be an American Indian, which surprised him slightly, and this boy was definitely the one giving off such a powerful aura.

"May I sit here?" Angelo asked politely, praying that he would be allowed. He needed to find out more about this boy.

The boy looked up from the book he'd been reading and smiled. "Of course. Sit down."

"Thank you." Angelo gave the boy a smile of his own and dragged his trunk into the compartment, pushing the glass door closed behind him. He lifted it into the overhead luggage rack with ease, despite the fact that it weighed about as much as he did, and sat with a book of his own in hand.

Not surprisingly, the boy was staring at him with an odd expression, though it quickly vanished to be replaced with another smile. "I'm Aaron Eaglesight," said the boy as he held a hand out to Angelo. "I'm a second year."

"Angelo Haemon," he answered as he briefly took the hand. "This is my first year. Are you from the United States?"

Aaron laughed softly. "Well spotted. Yes, I'm from America, from the Ojibwa tribe. I would be studying there, but my parents wanted me to study European magic. They believe it will be far more useful to know in the coming years. Besides which, I've already learned everything that someone twice my age would know, so it was rather pointless for me to stay."

"I see. That is very amazing." Angelo filed that information away, sure it would be useful later. He also felt that he could relax a bit; Vampires and their Hunters tended to be born on the same continent, and Aaron was older by a year, so he couldn't possibly be a danger.

He glanced up to see that Aaron was giving him a funny look again and felt faintly unnerved. "What is it?"

Aaron blinked in surprise and smiled with a shake of his head. "It's nothing. I'm sorry."

Angelo looked at him suspiciously, especially since he could feel from his aura that the other boy was hiding something, but let it drop. He opened his book and sat back to read, Aaron doing the same thing across from him.

Barely a minute had passed, however, when he suddenly tensed and glanced at the doorway. No one was there yet, but there soon would be; he could feel another strong aura moving steadily towards their compartment. This one, however, had him extremely worried. Whereas Aaron's aura felt peaceful with an average level of magical power, this new energy felt violent, secretive, and extremely powerful, much like his own. Either there was another Vampire, which he doubted, or his Hunter was here.

Then, abruptly, it vanished. Shaken, Angelo reached out with his mind but encountered nothing but regular humans. The mysterious being was gone; whoever it was had probably shielded himself as soon as he'd felt Angelo or Aaron.

A moment later, the compartment door opened to reveal a very pale boy with long blond hair and golden eyes, a stark contrast to his own black and red hair and dark eyes. The blond boy glanced warily to his right down the corridor before looking imploringly at them.

"Could I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Sure," Aaron answered, while Angelo nodded once. The boy gained a relieved expression, but it was quickly replaced by one of horror when twin voices suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, Kiran!"

The boy, Kiran, ducked into the compartment and shut the door behind him just as two red-headed shapes ran past. After a moment, Kiran opened the door a crack and stuck his head out to look around, then came back in with another relieved smile.

"Thank Merlin, I think I lost them."

"What is going on?" Angelo asked curiously as Kiran sat next to him.

"A couple of red-headed weirdoes have been trying to get me to sit with them," Kiran answered with a roll of his eyes. "I've no idea why."

Angelo laughed softly, though he did feel sorry for Kiran. Then he held a hand out to the blond and said with a smile, "I am Angelo Haemon, and that is Aaron Eaglesight. It is nice to meet you."

"Kiran Erebos," the blond answered as he took Angelo's hand. "I'm a first year."

"Hey, me too!" Angelo said with a laugh. "Do you think we will be in the same House?"

"I just hope I'm not in the same House as those weirdoes," Kiran answered with another roll of his eyes.

"What House are you in, Aaron?" Angelo asked, turning to the older boy.

"Hufflepuff," Aaron answered.

Angelo was slightly disappointed by this. "Too bad; I am going to be in Slytherin."

"Really? You don't seem the type."

"There is no other choice for me," Angelo answered softly, shaking his head. He wasn't a pureblood, but as a Dark Creature, none of the other Houses would ever take him.

"I'm going to be in Slytherin, too," Kiran remarked, giving Angelo an odd look.

Angelo gave him disarming smile. "That is wonderful! It will be nice to already know someone."

"Oh great," Aaron said with a dramatic sigh, though he was grinning as well. "I have Slytherin friends. My reputation is ruined."

* * *

Kiran wasn't sure what to think about Angelo as he watched the dark haired boy laughing with Aaron. He seemed rather nice and polite, almost too much so, but his aura was completely different. It wasn't there. Aaron's he could feel clearly, and he was surprised at how strong it was, but Angelo's was simply non-existent, as though he were dead. That could only mean one thing; he was shielding it, and he was extremely talented at that.

Very few people could shield their auras well enough that Kiran couldn't even detect them. He'd trained his whole life to be able to break though any shields so that he'd know his Vampire when they met. This boy, however, seemed to have done the same thing, and that unnerved Kiran. A lot. And it took quite a lot to unnerve him.

"–right, Kiran?"

Kiran started and stared at Angelo, drawing a blank on what the question had been, which was also very rare for him. He hesitated before answering with a faint smile, "Right."

Angelo grinned and went right back to his animated conversation with Aaron. Aaron gave him a brief, knowing smile before giving Angelo all his attention again.

No, he really didn't know what to make of Angelo. But as the train started to slow and they hurried to pull their robes on before it stopped, he felt that the dark-haired boy's earlier statement was absolutely correct. It would be much more fun to be in the same House as someone you already knew.

* * *

"Firs' years! Firs' year over here!"

Angelo started and looked around as he stepped off the train, followed by Aaron and Kiran, but he couldn't see where the voice was coming from. Of course, he couldn't see much of anything at all; his body was singing with the darkness and it distracted him far too much.

Kiran, however, didn't have this problem as he soon pointed over to some spot to their left. "Look at that man over there! He's huge!"

Angelo looked over, but all he could see was a bit of light bobbing in the darkness, probably a lantern. The night poured into and wrapped around him, obscuring almost all of his senses; he wasn't even sure if he could walk properly if he had too.

"That's Hagrid, the gamekeeper," Aaron was saying. "He'll take you guys up to the castle. The first years always have a different way of getting there than the rest of the school."

"You won't be coming with us?" Kiran asked, though he didn't sound particularly upset about it.

"No, but I'll see you later at the Sorting and after dinner. Go on, Hagrid'll be leaving soon." Aaron waved as he left to follow the larger stream off students heading towards the front of the train.

Kiran sighed and turned back to Angelo. "C'mon, then, we don't want to be left behind." When Angelo didn't move, or even acknowledge that he'd heard, Kiran grabbed one of his wrists and pulled him forward.

Angelo's breath hitched slightly at the contact and he was dragged abruptly out of his drunken stupor. He was sorely tempted to Feed off Kiran as they walked, but he fought that need with a passion; he couldn't just Feed off the first person that touched him in a slightly intimate way, even if he hadn't had any real nourishment in two days. It would be a horrible way to thank Kiran for his friendship. That, and he had a feeling Kiran would notice if his energy suddenly started draining away.

Now that they were closer and he wasn't so bleary, he could see that Hagrid _was _huge; the man loomed over everyone, even the tall older students. He looked rather savage as well with his scraggy hair and beard and dirty clothes, but he was grinning good naturedly under all that hair.

"Is that everyone?" Hagrid questioned in a gruff voice. "Right then, let's go! Firs' years, follow me!"

Hagrid led them down a steep, narrow path so dark that most of them stumbled on every rock they came across. Reaching out with his mind, Angelo could feel that the path had been carved through a thick forest full of magical creatures. He was tempted again, this time to wander off into the forest to discover its mysteries.

He'd been spacing out so much that he completely missed hearing Hagrid's announcement of soon seeing Hogwarts. Only Kiran's elbow in his side got his head out of the clouds and he gasped softly at the sight of the giant glittering castle across the lake they'd reached.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, gesturing to a fleet of small boats bobbing in the water near the edge of the lake. Obviously sure that Angelo was still spacing out, Kiran dragged him determinedly over to one of the boats. However, his expression fell slightly when they were joined by two red-headed boys, twins by the look of it, and obviously the ones that had been chasing Kiran earlier.

"Hi, I'm Fred Weasley," said one with a grin. "And this is my twin, George."

"It is nice to meet you," Angelo said with a smile, giving them both a little bow.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid's voice suddenly called through the darkness. "Right then–FORWARD!"

Kiran reached reflexively for Angelo's arm when the boat began moving with a start, following the others across the smooth dark surface of the lake. A soft solemnity fell over all of the students, causing them to fall silent as they gradually sailed closer to the cliff upon which the castle stood.

"Heads down!" Hagrid called out, and they all ducked as the boats passed under an opening in the rock face dripping with ivy. They travelled through what seemed to be an underground tunnel for quite some time until, finally, the boats came to a stop and Hagrid was urging them up onto dry land.

"Follow me!" Hagrid said yet again, and he led them up through a passageway in the rocks to the cool night air above right next to the castle. Then up a set of stone stairs and they were standing in front of the tall oak front door. Hagrid paused, for effect supposedly, before pounding three times on the door.

Instantly, the door swung open to reveal a stern looking witch in bright green robes. Angelo noticed the Weasley twins give each other identical mischievous looks the instant they saw her.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said as he stepped back from the door.

"Thank you, Hagrid. First years, please follow me."

She led them into the entrance hall, a room so large a house would fit inside with torches lighting the walls and a magnificent marble staircase flowing up to the next floor. To their right, voices could be heard behind another set of magnificent doors, but Professor McGonagall led them across the hall to a small empty chamber where they had to crowd together to fit everyone inside.

It was here that Angelo had his first attack. Surrounded by so many other children who were exuding excitement and nervousness, his subconscious tried to take over and force him to Feed. He had to use all of his self control to keep himself from drawing these innocent peoples' energies, and he completely missed Professor McGonagall's long-winded speech about how they show behave and what the Houses were. In fact, he almost didn't start moving when the rest of them did; it was only Kiran's hand on his wrist that got him to follow the other students into the Great Hall.

As soon as they entered the Great Hall, the feeling doubled and he had to close his eyes to concentrate on keeping his aura to himself. He already knew what the Great Hall looked like from his father's descriptions of it anyway, and he would always have another chance to look at the magical ceiling and floating candles.

When they came to a stop, however, Kiran elbowed him and he looked up to see that Professor McGonagall had set a three legged stood down in front of the first years and was just now placing a tattered old wizard's hat down on top of it. Knowing that this must be the Sorting Hat, he watched eagerly, though still fighting his urge to Feed.

The hat twitched once, then again, then a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and it began to sing:

_In days of old, when I was new,_

_A great old school was raised,_

_By four friends, young and old,_

_Who found themselves amazed_

_That the level of wizards then_

_Had much to be desired_

_To teach new wizards of their craft_

_Was what they soon conspired_

_Said Gryffindor, "I'll teach the bravest_

_And show them how courage grows."_

_Said Ravenclaw, "I'll take the brightest_

_And with knowledge they'll be pros."_

_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll take the faithful_

_With whom loyalty's the mission."_

_Said Slytherin, "I'll take the purest_

_And feed their great ambition." _

_And so the friends began their school,_

_Taking students from far and wide,_

_And left me behind once they left,_

_To open your minds and look inside!_

The whole school broke into applause, Angelo and the Weasley twins among them, although Kiran just stood there with a displeased look on his face. Angelo thought he heard the blond boy mutter, "It's horribly tone deaf," but he may have been mistaken because of all the noise.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long scroll of parchment in her hands and a stern look on her face.

"When I call your name," she said, quieting the crowd, "you will put on the hat and sit to be sorted. Adrasteia, Dominique!"

"What a name," Kiran murmured as a red-haired girl strode confidently out of the group and up to the hat. She put it on her head and barely had time to sit down before the hat cried, "SLYTHERIN!"

The table to the far right erupted in polite cheers and Dominique headed over to them with a satisfied smirk.

"Akers, Rachel!"

A small girl with strawberry blond hair moved forward from the back of the crowd and nervously put on the hat as she sat down. The hat was silent for a moment, then–

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

A table to their left burst into applause as Rachel Akers quickly took off the hat and hurried over to sit down, a deep blush on her cheeks. Now that Angelo knew which table was Hufflepuff's, he looked over and scanned the faces for Aaron's, finally finding him sitting near the end, clapping and cheering with the rest.

"Bradley, Mark!"

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted, this time after about only a second. The table to their right cheered this time as a mousy boy hurried off to sit.

However, Angelo was starting to have trouble keeping control of himself again and he had to draw back into himself, completely missing the next couple students.

Noticing this, like he had the last time, Kiran felt that it was time to take some drastic action, since his name came before Angelo's and he wouldn't be there to make sure Angelo didn't miss it. As "Diggory, Cedric," was sorted into Hufflepuff, he stepped forward to talk to the twins.

"Hey, could you look after my friend?" he asked softly, gesturing at the dark-haired boy. "I don't think he's feeling very well, but I'll have to go up before him."

"Sure, no problem," Fred said with a grin. They both stepped back to stand next to Angelo just as Professor McGonagall called out, "Erebos, Kiran!"

Kiran stepped forward with his head held high and dropped the hat onto his head. He'd barely had time to sit down before a small voice started talking to him from inside the hat.

"Ah, a Hunter I see. We haven't had one of those in a long while. You're very smart, no doubt about that, and very ambitious. Hmmm, but where to put you..."

_You'd better put me in Slytherin, you stupid hat,_ Kiran thought viciously; that would be where his Vampire would have to go, after all, _Or I'll light you on fire without a second thought_.

"No need to threaten me, now!" said the voice hurriedly. "I can see full well that you could do that. Of course, that's where you'll need to be, isn't it? Yes, I can see that, too. Pity, Ravenclaw could use your talents. Anyway, I'll put you in SLYTHERIN!"

Kiran smirked slightly as he took the hat off and headed toward the cheering table. Of course, he hadn't wanted to threaten the hat, but he'd panicked when it had said it might put him in Ravenclaw. It would do him no good to be that far away from his Vampire.

Only one person, "Fawcett, Samantha" was sorted before Professor McGonagall called out, "Haemon, Angelo!"

Angelo blinked in surprise when the Weasley twins suddenly pushed him forward; he'd been so withdrawn that he hadn't even heard his name. Nevertheless, he stepped forward with grace, set the hat on his head, and sat down.

"Oh, a Vampire!" squealed the small voice of the hat, obviously excited. "Oh, Hogwarts will be interesting soon, no doubt!"

_What do you mean?_ Angelo asked softly.

"You'll see soon enough, I think. Oh, but it's been so long since we've had a Vampire here! You're quite lucky, you know."

_Yes, I know,_ Angelo thought with a laugh. _Now, are you going to sort me, or keep chatting with me until McGonagall rips you off my head?_

"Don't worry, I'll sort you. I already know where to put you; there's no real choice. I only wanted to warn you first: your Hunter is here."

_What?!_ Angelo exclaimed, his blood running cold. _My Hunter is here?_

However, it seemed the hat no longer had anything to say, as it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" without a further word. Shaken, Angelo took the hat off and made his way over to the Slytherin table and the seat next to Kiran.

"Johnson, Angelina!" Professor McGonagall called and a black girl hurried forward.

"So, where do you think those twins are going to end up?" Kiran asked softly as the girl was sorted into Gryffindor.

"I do not know," Angelo answered with a shrug as a black boy headed up to the front. "They said they were Weasleys, right? Probably Gryffindor."

"Mmm, as long as it's not with us," Kiran remarked with a sour look at the two red-heads. "Though they're not too bad."

"No, look." Angelo pointed over at a table across the Hall where two red-heads were sitting, both older than them, though one looked to be one of the older students while the other seemed just a year older than Aaron. "They're probably Weasleys as well. Fred and George will probably end up with them."

Sure enough, at the end of the list were the twins and they were both sent to Gryffindor, one after the other. Then Professor Dumbledore stood up to say something, but neither Angelo nor Kiran felt like listening to him. It was almost too soon that the dishes on the table filled with food.

Before Angelo could start dishing food onto his plate, however, a small scroll of parchment, tied with a red ribbon, appeared on his empty plate. He hurriedly hid it, not wanting any extra attention, and slid the ribbon off under the table with Kiran looking over his shoulder.

"Who is that from?" Kiran asked softly when Angelo unrolled the parchment.

Angelo quickly checked and paled. "Professor Dumbledore...he wants to see me after the feast."

"What did you do?"

"I have not done anything," Angelo answered with a shake of his head. "But...I think I may know why he wants to see me."

"You do?" Kiran asked in surprise.

Angelo nodded silently; more than likely, the Headmaster wanted to talk to him about what he could and could not do while he was at Hogwarts, like no feeding off students and no wandless magic. He would probably emphasize those two especially. Sometimes, Angelo wished that his mother had been a normal witch or Muggle and not a Succubus.

As soon as the feast ended, Angelo said a quick goodbye to Kiran and hurried to find Aaron before the older boy left the Hall. He knew he was eliciting stares from his fellow Slytherins as he headed straight toward the Hufflepuff table, but he could care less about what most of them thought.

Luckily, Aaron was still sitting at his table having an animated conversation with the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost. Angelo would have found this remarkable if he hadn't had so much on his mind already.

"Aaron!" he said to draw the other boy's attention. Aaron politely said goodbye to the hefty ghost and turned to Angelo with a faintly confused expression.

"Angelo? Shouldn't you be heading to your dorm?"

Angelo shook his head. "The Headmaster wants to see me. Do you know where his office is?"

"The Headmaster?" Aaron said in surprise. "It's on the seventh floor, behind a statue of a gargoyle, but you can't get in without the password. Why does he want to see you?"

"I cannot tell you right now," Angelo answered with another shake of his head, "but I will, soon. Thank you."

"Hey," Aaron said, catching Angelo by the arm before he ran off. "Follow the Gryffindors. They'll take you right up to the seventh floor."

"Okay. Thank you!" Angelo gave him a brilliant smile before running off to catch up with the Weasley twins.

As soon as he appeared next to the twins, the rest of the Gryffindors shied away with looks of confusion and apprehension. The twins, however, gave him broad grins. "Hey, Angelo!"

"Hi!" Angelo greet with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" George asked, eyeing the group of Slytherins leaving the Hall that Angelo should have been with.

"I have to see the Headmaster," Angelo answered quietly so he wouldn't be overhead. "I was told we would be going to the same floor, so I thought I might walk with you."

"Ah, cool. Hey are you feeling better?"

Angelo frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well earlier, during the Sorting, Kiran said you weren't feeling well," Fred answered, looking faintly concerned.

"Oh." Though he was faintly surprised by this, he had a feeling he knew what that was about. "Yes, I feel much better now. I was merely nervous, I think. Thank you for worrying about me."

"No problem," George said with a grin. Then his grin widened and he asked in a whisper, "So, what'd you do to merit a trip to the Headmaster's office of the first day?"

"Yeah, we thought we'd be the first ones, and our brothers have bets riding on what day it'll be."

"I have done nothing," Angelo answered with a shake of his head.

"Whoa, so why do you think Dumbledore wants to see you?" Fred asked in awe.

"I do not know," Angelo lied in answer, "but I will be sure to tell you later."

"Okay, see you, Angelo!" They waved as they headed off further down the corridor with the rest of their House while Angelo came to a stop before a huge gargoyle statue. As he looked at the gargoyle, however, he realized that he had no idea what the password was, nor whether Dumbledore was already in the office or not. Luckily, he was saved when Dumbledore walked up and stopped next to him.

"Ah, Angelo, good to see you got my message. Come–Sugar Quill–let's go up."

At the name of the sweet, the gargoyle jumped aside to reveal a steadily moving spiral staircase. Dumbledore gently prodded Angelo forward and they slowly revolved up into the tower. At the top, Dumbledore pushed open the door and stepped into the large circular room. Angelo glanced around as he followed, noting the snoozing portraits of former headmasters and mistresses lining the walls and the great number of sparkling silver objects strewn everywhere.

"Please sit down," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the chair before the massive claw-footed desk while he sat behind it. Angelo apprehensively eased himself into the chair, for he had just noticed the phoenix perched next to Dumbledore. Dumbledore glanced over when he saw that Angelo was looking somewhere else and smiled kindly. "Don't worry, Fawkes won't harm you. He's rather peaceful."

"Vampires and Phoenixes are mortal enemies," Angelo said carefully as he turned his wary gaze back onto Dumbledore. "Rather like Vampires and werewolves. Forgive me if I may be a little edgy."

"Of course, that's natural. Would you care for a drink?" Dumbledore asked good-naturedly as he conjured up two teacups and two teapots.

Angelo eyed him with annoyance as Dumbledore poured tea into one of the teacups; didn't he know anything? "I cannot eat or drink human food, Headmaster."

"Yes, I know. I took the liberty of procuring something more suitable for you."

Angelo's breath hitched in surprise. "You...did?"

"Yes, would you like some?"

"Yes, please!" Angelo blushed lightly at his eagerness and explained in a murmured, "Mother dislikes it when I drink blood, even though I need it. I have not had blood in at least a month." He eagerly accepted the cup he was offered and took a long drink from it. "Thank you."

Dumbledore took a sip of his tea before he placed the cup down and regarded Angelo with a serious expression. "I'm sure you know why I asked you here. We must discuss what will happen during your time at Hogwarts."

"You do not want me to Feed off of any of the students, of course," Angelo said at once.

"Of course, if that could be avoided. However, I acknowledge that without blood and energy, you would die, and that after some time, you would lose control and attack someone as a survival instinct." Dumbledore sighed and took another drink. "Therefore, I have decided that you will have a net of donors. They will be the only students you will be allowed to feed from."

Angelo nodded with a relieved smile.

"Also, I'm afraid I cannot permit you to use wandless magic while you are here. You must learn to use your wand like every other student. I will be telling your Hunter that as well, so you'll be on even ground."

Angelo's blood ran cold at the mention. "Do you know who it is, then?"

"Yes, but as you know, I am not permitted to tell you who it is. Only he himself may do that."

"Yes, I know," Angelo said with a pout. "But that makes everything more difficult."

"It is unfortunate," Dumbledore agreed sympathetically, "but unavoidable, like many things in life. Now, I have one more condition for you, though I doubt it will come into play for several years."

"What is it?" Angelo asked, thoroughly confused. He'd only been able to think of two problems, the two they'd already discussed.

"I must ask you not to engage in any sexual practices of any kind without informing me or Professor Snape, your Head of House."

Angelo flushed deeply; it was rather like having your grandfather ask to know about that kind of thing. "Everything, sir?"

"Everything. You must understand, Angelo, this is for the safety of the other students as well as for yourself. I need to know if you engage in any sexual practices with anyone, even to the simplest kiss." He gave Angelo another sympathetic look and added, "I trust you to have control...up to a certain point."

"I understand, Headmaster," Angelo answered with a small smile. "And I will remember for when the time comes."

Dumbledore took another sip of tea. "Good. Now, I would like you to know that you will be allowed to wander the halls at night after curfew–"

"Really?" Angelo asked excitedly. He hadn't expected that at all.

"Yes, I know that being out at night is important for you as well. But you must not slack off in classes because of it, or I'll take that privilege away."

Angelo shook his head vigorously. "No, sir."

Dumbledore smiled very briefly before he suddenly turned serious again. "So you know, none of these rules will apply if your life is threatened in anyway, even if it is because of another student. Those who know about this will be told that as well, so you shouldn't have any problems."

Angelo was relieved at first, until the last bit; then he sat up straight in his seat. "What do you mean by 'those who know'? No one knows about this yet."

Dumbledore blue eyes twinkled slightly as he answered, "That is that last bit I have to tell you. At the moment, Professor Snape is informing your Housemates of your condition and of everything we have discussed. And the prefects and Head Boy and Girl were informed on the train during their orientation."

"What!" Angelo exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "Why?! What if my Hunter is in Slytherin too? He'll kill me tonight!"

"He will not, because Severus will speak to him in private also. I will not tolerate violence in this school, even between a Vampire and Hunter. If he is to kill you, it will be during holidays or seven years from now. However," he added with a faint smile, "I think you're too smart to die without a fight. You have nothing to worry about."

Angelo forced himself to calm and sat down again, though his eyes were flashing red. "I am not happy with this, Headmaster, but I will not fight you. May I personally tell others, or do you wish for only Slytherins to know?"

"You may tell others," Dumbledore answered, his eyes smiling. "But only those you trust, and I would advise against telling too many, as news tends to spread rather quickly around here."

"I was only planning to tell a few," Angelo said with a nod, relaxing slightly.

"Very good." Dumbledore stood and waved his wand once to cause the teacups and pots to disappear. "I'm sure your Housemates are waiting for you, particularly Kiran. You may go now."

Angelo stood and gave him a small bow with a smile. "Thank you for letting me study here, Headmaster. I promise I will do my best to uphold these rules."

"I'm sure you will. Run along, now."

Angelo gave him another bright smile and dashed out of the office to head downstairs. He hoped that Kiran hadn't been too distraught when he'd heard about what Angelo really was.

* * *

Snape was waiting for the Slytherins when they stepped into the dungeon-like common room, looking faintly displeased about something. As soon as one of the older students tried to head down to the dorms, Snape said clearly, "Wait here, I have something to say to all of you."

The Slytherins gathered in and around the chairs littering the room, most of them looking confused. Kiran managed to grab the chair closest to the fire and was rather comfortable as they all waited for Snape to speak.

Snape delayed until they had all settled down, then he began to speak in a soft voice.

"We will have a...special student starting with us this year. He is to be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. The Headmaster has asked me to warn you of this because he believes that you will not do it on your own. I hope that he is mistaken."

"Who is it, sir?" asked one of the sixth years.

"His name is Angelo Haemon. You all saw him earlier. At the moment, he is with the Headmaster discussing what I am about to say to all of you."

Kiran frowned in confusion. When he and Angelo had been discussing that, the dark-haired boy seemed to think that whatever he and the Headmaster were going to discuss was just going to be between them. Whatever it was, he was eager to find out.

Snape continued in a soft voice they all had to strain to hear. "Angelo is extremely fortunate to be able to come to this school, or any school for that matter, so any fighting with him will not be tolerated. If _anyone_ provokes him to the point where he feels he must defend himself, he will be allowed to do so however he feels necessary. Let me inform you that you do not wish to be the one he has to defend himself against. The reason being simply that Angelo is half-Vampire, and he is registered with the Ministry as both a wizard and a full Incubus as he possesses all the powers of both."

Kiran was not the only one to gasp, but he was sure that he was the only one gasping for his reason. _Angelo_ was his Vampire? And he was _that_ powerful?

"Normally, this would mean that he would not be allowed a wand, much less be allowed to attend school, but the Headmaster believes that anyone who can learn should be allowed to learn. Since he is registered as a wizard, he is allowed to come here. However, he is also a danger to everyone in the school, especially all of you. Therefore, we have given him a set of guidelines that he will have to follow while he is he, but they apply to you also."

It made sense, however, when he thought back to the train ride. Only a Vampire could shield his aura from him that effectively.

"First of all, I need all of you seventeen or older to see me after classes tomorrow. Angelo will have to have willing donors of energy or blood to survive, and you are the only students who will be told about this. Second, he is allowed to wander the halls at night, and none of you are to detain him if he so wishes to go out."

Why did it have to be Angelo, though? Aaron he could have dealt with, or those obnoxious twins, but he rather liked Angelo. He didn't want to kill the other boy already.

"Finally, none of this is to leave this room. He is allowed to tell who he likes about his existence, but you are not. If I get an inkling that any of you have breathed a word about this, the consequences will be most dire. I will say it again: he is not to be bothered. He is not to be touched. He is to be protected from other Houses, but otherwise, it would be best to leave him alone. I would wager he is more of an introvert anyway. Do you have any questions?"

When all of the students shook their heads, he nodded and waved them off. "You may go. Erebos, stay here. I need to speak with you privately."

Kiran got up but stayed where he was, staring at Snape in utter confusion. What had he done?

"Follow me," Snape ordered as soon as almost all of the other students had left. Kiran followed him out of the common room to stand just outside in the cold dungeon corridor.

"I know who you are, Kiran," Snape said, using the same tone as just minutes ago. "The Headmaster informed me this morning."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir–"

"I _mean_ that we know you are Angelo's Hunter," Snape interrupted impatiently. "And as such I have been delegated the task of informing you of _your_ first guideline."

Kiran frowned in annoyance, though he was now extremely tense inside. How had Dumbledore known he was a Hunter? "I don't understand. _I_'m not the one who could be killing off half the school."

"No, but you are the one who will be killing Angelo," Snape answered. "And so Dumbledore felt that you need a few rules of your own to make things even."

"Fine, what are they?"

"Just one tonight, and that is that you may not harm Angelo while you are at Hogwarts."

"What!" Kiran exclaimed, completely outraged. "I'm his Hunter! That's my _job_!"

"Of course it is, but not while you are at Hogwarts. The Headmaster will expel you if you try."

"That's ridiculous! What am I supposed to do, wait seven years?"

Snape gave him a patient look. "I understand the situation you're in. Let me tell you something. The Headmaster distinctly said 'while he's at Hogwarts.' Therefore, it doesn't apply to holidays when–"

"Neither of us are at school!" Kiran concluded with a smile. Then he frowned suspiciously. "Do you want me to kill Angelo?"

Snape gave him a patient look. "No, of course not, but this is the hand we've been dealt. I don't want to see that old man meddle in business that isn't his." He glanced down the hallway and gave Kiran a meaningful look. "Angelo will be coming back soon. You may act as you see fit, as long as neither of you is harmed." Then he walked off further into the dungeons where his office was located.

Kiran waited outside until Angelo came running towards him. Lucky he had, too, because as soon as Angelo stopped, he collapsed and Kiran had to hurriedly reach out to catch him.

"Did you run all the way here?" Kiran demanded as he helped Angelo stand. The dark-haired boy just barely managed to nod as he panted heavily.

"You idiot! What were you thinking?" Kiran chided as he helped Angelo through into the common room. "Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"I...was...not the...thinking," Angelo gasped out with a shaky smile. "...Sorry..."

Kiran rolled his eyes as he helped Angelo make his way down to their dorm, but as he watched the smaller boy pant and shakily try to make his way on his own, he knew that he wouldn't be able to kill him anytime soon. No, in fact, he didn't feel he should tell Angelo that they were enemies any time soon either. Let the Vampire enjoy his time at Hogwarts. They had years to start their war.


	2. Part I Ch II Bless the Child

AN: Title for this chap is track one of Nightwish's _Century Child_.

* * *

Century Child

Part I: First Year

Chapter II: Bless the Child

"I cannot wait to start classes today!" Angelo sighed happily as he and Kiran made their way through the dungeons the next morning. "Are you not excited, Kiran?"

"I'd be more excited if I weren't so tired," Kiran answered with a yawn and a very mild glare.

Angelo immediately looked ashamed. In his excitement, he had kept Kiran up until three in the morning, when the blond had just fallen asleep. "I am sorry I kept you up so late. It is hard for me to remember that you humans have such odd sleeping patterns."

"Hey, you're half human too," Kiran said, poking Angelo in the side. "You'll feel the effects of it someday."

"But not today!" Angelo said with a laugh. "Save me a seat, please," he added as they entered the Great Hall. Without waiting for a reply, he headed straight for the Hufflepuff table where Aaron was sitting.

"Oh, hello, Angelo," Aaron said with a smile when he eventually noticed the younger boy. "Did you find the Head's office okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Angelo said with a slight bow. "I would like to speak with you after dinner. Will you meet me in the entrance hall?"

"Sure." Aaron gave him a quizzical look before adding, "Is it about last night?"

"Yes. I would like for you to know why the Headmaster wanted to see me. I am going to ask the Weasley twins to be there as well."

Aaron nodded, still looking faintly confused. "I'll be there."

Angelo gave him a thankful smile and a bow before he headed over to the Gryffindor table. As he approached, many of the students sent him dirty or challenging looks, as though daring him to come any closer. He seemed to ignore them as he walked up to the two red-headed twins, but as soon as they acknowledged his presence, he frowned at the other Gryffindors.

"Why are the all glaring at me?" he asked, faintly hurt. "I have done nothing to them."

"Gryffindors and Slytherins loath each other on principle," said the eldest Weasley, who was sitting nearby and had plainly been listening in. "It's one of the long-standing traditions of Hogwarts."

"But don't worry; we still like you," Fred said with a shrug.

"It doesn't matter to us that you're a Slytherin. You're pretty cool," George added.

"Yeah, but mum might mind; you know how she gets." The tall Weasley held his hand out to Angelo, who took it awkwardly. "You must be Angelo. Fred and George couldn't stop talking about you last night; I had to threaten them with detention to get them to shut up."

"Yes, I am Angelo Haemon," Angelo said, blushing faintly. "Are you their brother?"

"One of them, yeah. Charlie Weasley, Gryffindor prefect and Quidditch captain. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Forgive me, but I would like to speak to your brothers in private."

"Yeah, sure." Charlie shrugged, smiled, and turned away to talk to some girl that had been trying to get his attention for several minutes.

Angelo smiled serenely at the twins, but it was gone in a second to be replaced by a serious look. "I would like to speak with you after dinner. Will you me meet in the entrance hall?"

"Yeah, okay," Fred said immediately, looking surprised.

"Why, though?" George asked, just as taken aback.

"I would like for you to know why the Headmaster wanted to speak with me last night," Angelo answered with a smile. "I had to ask his permission first, but he is allowing me to tell those whom I trust."

"You trust us that much?" Fred asked, obviously amazed.

"Yes. I trust both of you very much." Angelo shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "I know we have known each other less than a day, but I know that both of you are trustworthy­­–at least, when it comes to secrets. Perhaps not otherwise."

"At least he's got that measure of us," George commented to his brother with a grin.

"Sure, we'll come," Fred said to the young Vampire. "And we'll keep whatever it is you have to tell us secret."

"Thank you," Angelo said, smiling serenely again. He gave both of them a small bow then headed back over to the Slytherin table.

The first thing he noticed as he walked over was that Kiran was reading a short piece of parchment with a frown while a red ribbon sat by his plate. Angelo frowned at both as he sat next to the blond, though he didn't try to read what the parchment said.

"Is that from the Headmaster?" he asked softly.

Kiran nodded with a frown. "Yes. He wants to see me after dinner. It doesn't say why."

Angelo immediately felt a tendril of disappointment; he had been hoping Kiran could be with him when he told Aaron and the twins about what he was. He wasn't sure how they would react.

"Do you know long you'll be there?" Angelo asked. Kiran gave him a faint smile.

"Did you want me to do something tonight?"

"I wanted you to help me tell Aaron, Fred, and George what I am." Angelo shook his head. "But seeing the Headmaster is far more important. I can tell them on my own."

"I'm sure it won't take all night. I'll try to get there while you're still talking to them."

Angelo smiled brightly and gave Kiran a brief hug. "Thank you."

"By the way, Professor Snape came by and gave us our schedules," Kiran said as he produced another parchment and handed it to Angelo. "We've got Potions with him first today, with the Gryffindors."

"Wonderful, we'll be able to see the twins again!" Angelo said excitedly. "And we have Transfiguration with them too!"

"Great," Kiran said dryly as he looked over his schedule again. "Those are the only classes, though, Saints be praised."

"Let us head down now," Angelo said, eagerly getting up and tugging on Kiran's arm. "I want to be early on the first day."

"I'm not done with breakfast yet," Kiran protested as he stayed firmly seated.

"You take forever to eat," Angelo complained in a whine.

"I do not! No one else has left yet. Just because _you_ don't eat doesn't mean _I_ take forever!"

"Yes, it does," Angelo answered in a whisper, looking sulky but obviously not willing to loose his friend over such a petty argument. He waited almost patiently for Kiran to finish, which took far too long in his opinion, but grabbed the blond by the hand and tugged him impatiently out of the Great Hall once Kiran said he was finally done.

Kiran let himself be dragged, seemingly amused rather than annoyed by his friend's behaviour. "Why are you eager to get to class early?"

"I do not wish to get lost, firstly," Angelo answered. Then his voice grew softer as he added, "And I was afraid I would not be allowed to attend Hogwarts in the first place. I want to do my best now that I am here."

Kiran didn't answer, but he felt far more willing to go along with Angelo's wishes after that.

He also soon felt that they hadn't needed to leave the Great Hall so early for the possibility of getting lost. They only took one wrong turn on the way to the dungeons, and now that he thought about it, Angelo had made his way alone from the Head's office to the Slytherin common room the previous night and hadn't mentioned getting lost at all. He seemed to have an amazing sense of direction.

The door to the Potions classroom was unlocked when they got there, though Snape wasn't inside. Angelo insisted that they sit in the front of the room and had taken a seat before Kiran could protest that he'd much rather sit in the back. They waited for five minutes before another soul entered the room, and Kiran was less than enthused when he saw that it was the Weasley twins, accompanied by a black boy whose name he didn't remember.

"Hey, you've got to put in a good word for us with Snape," Fred said as he and his twin and the other boy sat behind their table.

"Yeah, he's supposed to favour Slytherins, so he'll listen to you," George added as a few other students wandered into the classroom.

Kiran looked back at them suspiciously. "Are you planning on doing something that'll lower his opinion of you or something?"

"You'll see," Fred answered with a grin.

"Anyway, we wanted you to meet our friend, too," George said, gesturing to the boy next to him, who was giving him very incredulous looks. "This is Lee Jordan. Lee, this is Angelo and Kiran."

"It is nice to meet you," Angelo said with a smile. Lee looked stunned for a moment before he gave Angelo a hesitant smile back.

"Yeah, same here."

"We don't bite, you know," Kiran growled out; he was far more offended by the nervousness Lee was displaying than Angelo had been. The other four looked startled for a moment, then Angelo began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Fred asked. Angelo shook his head and opened his mouth to answer, but Snape chose that moment to stride into the room.

"Settle down," he said softly, but it was unnecessary; the other students had fallen silent as soon as he'd walked in. Snape walked over to his desk, picked up a short piece of parchment and began taking the roll call. He was through with it rather quickly, ending with a mild glare at the Weasley twins, as if he already expected trouble from them.

"You are here," he began, speaking very softly yet clearly holding everyone's attention, "to learn the subtle and exacting science that is potion-making. I expect that many of you will not appreciate the art I am going to teach you, since, as we will not be using wands, many of you will feel that this is not magic. However, for those few students who have patience and intelligence, I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and stopper death...and much, much more."

Silence reigned after this speech. Kiran suspected it was because no one wanted to draw Snape's attention and possibly get in trouble.

"However, we shall not be studying those potions for quite some time. Today, you shall be making a simple potion meant to cure boils. I expect that all of you will be able to accomplish this." Snape's black eyes swept over the class as if daring them to get the potion wrong.

"You will divide into pairs to complete this assignment. The instructions–" he tapped the board with his wand­ and writing instantly covered the surface– "are on the blackboard. Everything you need–" he flicked his wand again and a cupboard behind him flew open– "can be found in the student store cupboard. Begin."

The potion proved to be extremely easy. Kiran himself had made it half a dozen times at home as part of his training, and from how efficiently Angelo worked next to him, he obviously had as well. Behind them, George and Lee seemed to be doing just as well, as Snape said nothing when he looked over their potion. And while the other groups seemed to be having more trouble, nothing exciting had happened yet.

Not until everyone was cleaning up, anyway.

Angelo was just pouring some of his potion into a flask to be graded, while Kiran was clearing extra ingredients off their table, when George passed them and muttered out of the side of his mouth, "You might want to duck." The two Slytherins glanced at each other in confusion, then back at Lee, who was already preparing to duck when the time came, then over at Fred and his partner. Fred grinned at them and made a 'shhh' gesture. With one last glance at each other, Angelo headed up to Snape's desk with their flask, Kiran kept cleaning up, and both were ready to duck when the time came.

_BOOM!_

Angelo, Kiran, the twins, and Lee ducked when a cauldron suddenly exploded and drenched their unwary classmates in potion. A couple of the girls screamed, though their seemed to be no reason for it, as the potion was harmless. The twins gave each other hasty grins before standing up and looking as confused as everyone else by what had happened.

Snape bore down on Warrington and Montague, whose cauldron it had been that had blown up, his expression dark. "What happened here?"

"I dunno, sir, we thought we'd done everything right," Montague answered, staring hopelessly at his empty cauldron.

Snape frowned darkly and flicked his wand, vanish the potion coving the walls and various students. "I see."

"Maybe they were sabotaged, sir," suggested one of the Slytherin girls.

"I would hope," Snape began in a growl, his nostrils flaring as his gaze raked over the room, "that no one would be so foolish as to do such a thing in my classroom, not even a Gryffindor. You are all extremely lucky that this potion was made correctly. The results could have been disastrous otherwise."

He swept to the front of the class and glowered at all of them. "I will not tolerate such behaviour in my class. When I find out who did this, the consequences will be dire. You are dismissed."

"Can you believe it? He didn't even take off points!" Fred crowed a few minutes later as he, his twin, and Lee walked with their Slytherin friends out of the dungeons.

"I can't believe we got away with that!" George added in a blissful tone.

"Can't do it too often though; he'll catch on."

"But once in a while'll be worth it."

"What did you do?" Angelo asked, staring at both of them in awe.

"We snuck some salamander blood into their cauldron while everyone was packing up," Fred answered with a grin.

"It reacted with the horned slugs and made the potion explode with out changing the effects of it," George continued.

"We'll have to make it turn everyone's skin purple or something next time, though," Lee finished. The twins gave him awed looks.

"Excellent idea!"

"Couldn't have thought of a better one!"

Kiran rolled his eyes and pulled out his schedule. "We've got Herbology next, Angelo."

"Okay. We will see you at lunch." Angelo gave the Gryffindor trio a smile and a wave and followed Kiran out the front doors.

"Are you sure being friends with those weirdoes is a good idea?" Kiran asked once they were outside.

"I like them," Angelo answered simply with a small shrug. "And they can be trusted."

"They're going to get us in trouble."

Angelo laughed, shaking his head. "I think they are too clever for that. They got away with exploding a cauldron on purpose in Professor Snape's class on the first day, after all. We will be fine, Kiran."

* * *

The day passed far too quickly for both of their tastes and before they knew it, they were walking into the Great Hall for dinner with the rest of the school. Dinner was also over much too quickly, and soon, they were leaving again with Kiran heading up to the seventh floor and the Head's office (Angelo had told him where it was and the password) while Angelo stayed in the entrance hall to wait for his other friends.

The twins were the first to come out and they waved goodbye to Lee as they headed over to the young Vampire. The three of them stood for quite a while talking about their days before Aaron finally came out as well, deep in conversation with, of all ghosts, the Bloody Baron. Apparently, when he had someone he wanted to talk to, the Bloody Baron had quite a lot to say. Aaron soon waved goodbye to him, and headed over to where they were waiting.

"So, we're all here. What did you want to tell us?" he asked, glancing curiously at the twins every so often. Angelo looked around and shook his head.

"Not here. Please, come with me."

He headed off toward the few classrooms that were on the ground level with his Hufflepuff and Gryffindor friends following shortly after. He turned into the first classroom and flicked his wand to get rid of the dust before perching on one of the desks.

"How did you know how to do that?" Aaron asked suspiciously as he sat on another desk; Fred and George just looked deeply impressed.

"I have always known how to do that, just not with a wand," Angelo answered with a shrug.

"What–"

Angelo held up a hand to stop George. "Please, it is part of what I would like to tell you." He took in a deep breath before continuing, "I know we have only just met and barely know each other, but I trust all three off you very much. What I have to say must remain between us and Kiran; no one else may know unless I say it is alright."

"Sure, we can keep a secret," Fred said seriously.

"Yes, I am aware. That is why I would like to tell you and no one else," Angelo said, giving them a small smile. He took in another deep breath. "I am an Incubus Vampire."

Silence reigned after this short statement. Angelo smiled again and went on, "I know you may not believe me, since I am here in Hogwarts, but it is true. The Headmaster made sure I could attend. The Ministry is rather unhappy with him at the moment."

"But how come you're allowed to have a wand?" George asked, a mixture of emotions showing on his face.

"I am registered with the Ministry as both an Incubus and a wizard," Angelo answered, "because I can use the powers of both. I am probably the first Vampire in several centuries able to do so, in fact. They have only allowed me a wand because the Headmaster asked them to allow me to come here. My mother, who is a full-blooded Succubus, is not allowed to touch them."

"Wait, so you're half-Vampire and half-wizard?" Aaron asked.

"Yes. My father is a wizard. I prefer to think of myself as an Incubus, however." Angelo shrugged slightly. "Many part-humans are ashamed of what they are and try to pass themselves off as pure-blood wizards. I am proud that I am a Vampire. It is what I am; I see no reason to hide it."

"Except you're a danger to the other students," Aaron commented bluntly, though he didn't look fearful or disgusted at all.

"Yeah, how're you supposed to survive at Hogwarts?" Fred asked, frowning slightly.

"Dumbledore wouldn't let you Feed off the other students," George added, looking worried himself.

"He would not if that could be avoided," Angelo said, shaking his head. "Obviously, it cannot be, or I would likely kill someone. He is going to arrange for me to have donors to Feed from."

"So like, willing sacrifices?"

Angelo grimaced at the choice of words. "Well, I would not be killing them, obviously. But I would not take from someone unwilling, no. Whoever my donors are will know exactly what I am, what I can do, and what I will be doing to them."

"Why can't you eat regular food, though?" Aaron asked. "I heard of Vampires surviving on human food for years."

"Pure Vampires can, yes, but they do not like to. As a Halfling, however, I am unable to tolerate human food. It could make me extremely sick."

The twins glanced at each other while Aaron just looked shocked. "You must really trust us to tell us some thing like that."

"I do," Angelo said with slight bow of his head. "I can read your auras and I know you can be trusted. I do not trust anyone else yet, though."

Aaron nodded and held out his hand to the Vampire. "I won't tell. I sort of suspected this, actually."

Angelo blinked in surprise as he took Aaron's hand. "How?"

"I can read auras, too, and I noticed yours was a lot darker than most people's, before you started blocking it, of course. And you said you had no choice but to go into Slytherin, when you don't seem like a Slytherin at all, and all Dark Creatures go into Slytherin unless their human nature overrides their Dark one." Aaron added embarrassedly, "I thought you were a werewolf, though, not a Vampire. I think its cooler that you're not."

Angelo shuttered at the thought. "By Drakul, me a werewolf? I would kill myself."

"We won't tell either," Fred said seriously with a nod to him.

"Yeah, no way we'd compromise the chance of knowing a real Vampire," George added with a slight grin.

"Seriously, there's this guy who lives down the road from us who claims he is one–"

"–but he's nothing but a crazy. Has no idea what he's talking about."

"What is his name?" Angelo asked curiously.

"Faust something, I think."

"Faust DePrae?" Angelo guessed, a smile touching his lips.

"Yeah, that's it." George eyed him curiously. "How'd you know?"

The Slytherin laughed. "He is one of my cousins on my father's side! I cannot believe he lives so near to you!"

"So he really isn't a Vampire!" Fred said triumphantly. "Wait till we tell him–"

"No, no, he might be," Angelo said a bit more seriously. "My father is very distantly related to Count Drakul; Cousin Faust my have inherited the gene. He would still only be a Halfling like me, however. I shall have to ask him sometime."

The twins stared at him in awe. "You're really something, you know that?"

"Yes, I have been told so before."

"What about Lee?" George asked. "Can he know?"

Angelo frowned thoughtfully for a moment before he shook his head. "Not yet. I think I would like for him to know eventually, but he is not ready yet, and I do not trust him enough yet. I do not want the whole school to know, after all. Parents would not want me anywhere near their children."

"Lee wouldn't tell–"

"I am sorry, but that is my choice. However, when I do decide to tell him, I would like you two to do it."

The twins gaped at him, then grinned. "Okay!"

"Do your Housemates know?" Aaron asked curiously, "or just Kiran?"

"My Housemates and all of the prefects," Angelo answered with a faintly annoyed expression. "The Headmaster wanted for them to know so it is harder for me to accidentally harm someone. A fine idea, I am sure, but it means my Hunter knows who I am now."

"Yeah, bummer," Fred sympathized.

"But hey, that means they know what you're capable of, right?" George asked with a mischievous grin.

"So you could get us into the Slytherin dorms, couldn't you?" Fred finished with an identical expression to his brother's.

Angelo laughed and Aaron shook his head, amused. "I do not think my Housemates would appreciate that very much."

* * *

At the same time that Angelo was discussing his existence with his friends, Kiran was walking up to the Head's office alone. And for the first time in years, he was nervous. He'd easily felt the Headmaster's power any time he'd been near the old man, and he wasn't keen on doing anything that might get that power used against him.

In fact, he'd been almost sure that the password would have been changed already, just so the Headmaster would have to help him and therefore gain further initiative in this meeting. But the gargoyle jumped aside when he gave it the password Angelo had told him and he headed up he revolving staircase, slightly unnerved. At the top, he grabbed the brass griffin knocker and rapped on the door. It opened on its own, and Kiran eyed it warily before he stepped into the glittering office.

"Ah, Kiran, come in, come in. I had been hoping it was you."

Kiran shut the door behind him and strode over to the tall desk behind which Dumbledore was sitting, watching his student with twinkling blue eyes.

"Please, have a seat," Dumbledore suggested, gesturing at the comfortable-looking chair sitting before his desk.

"I'd like to remain standing, if you don't mind," Kiran answered, not moving a fraction more toward the chair or the desk.

"Not at all." Dumbledore flicked his wand and a tea set appeared on his desk. "Would you care for a drink?"

"No," Kiran answered, feeling annoyed already. "I'd like it if we could stop with the formalities and you'd tell me why I'm here."

"Very well. I asked you here to discuss the terms of your stay at Hogwarts for the next seven years."

"Like how I'm not allowed to hurt my Vampire?"

The Headmaster smiled. "So Severus _did_ talk to you last night. Good. Yes, terms like that one."

"Why am I not allowed to harm my Vampire?" Kiran demanded.

"I will not condone violence of any kind, even between a Vampire and Hunter," Dumbledore answered evenly as he Vanished the tea set again.

"But it's my _job_!" Kiran exclaimed angrily, taking a step toward the desk. "It's why I was _born_!"

"I understand that," Dumbledore said calmly, "and I am not banning you from your purpose in life. I know I have no right to do that. I merely ask that you restrain yourself while you are in this school. Outside of school, I have no control over what you do."

Kiran glared at him for a long while before he finally spat out, "What other rules am I going to have while I'm here, sir?"

"I must ask you not to use wandless magic–"

"_What_?"

"–while you are here," Dumbledore said, as though Kiran had never interrupted him. "I have asked the same thing of Angelo, so you will be on equal ground."

"No wandless magic," Kiran repeated blankly.

"Exactly. It would not be fair to the other students."

"It's not fair to either of us to keep us from using it!"

Dumbledore regarded him almost apologetically over his half-moon glasses. "I am sorry, but that is the way it has to be. The Ministry would not allow him to come here otherwise."

Kiran growled under his breath.

"I must also ask you not to use your true form while you are here."

Kiran started and gaped up at him. "How do you know about that?"

"I know many things about you," Dumbledore said in answer. "Many more than the Ministry, in fact, and I should like to keep it that way. I know they do not know what you and your family really are. I would prefer it if they never knew."

"Why?"

"Because they would either use you or kill you. As neither of those are ideal, I would prefer it if neither of them had a chance of happening."

Kiran shrugged, not looking it, but feeling unnerved again. What _else_ did this old man know about him? "Fine, I won't use my true form here. Is that all?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I would also like you to keep an eye on Angelo and to tell me if he ever violates one of his rules. I assume he told you what those are."

Kiran nodded with a scowl and crossed his arms. "Why would I do that? I'm not your watchdog, Headmaster."

"Because I need to know if he does. If he violates one of his rules, and the wrong parents find out, I will have to expel him. If I am the first to know, however, I may be able to keep him here."

"Can I tell him that I'm going to be spying on him?" Kiran asked sourly.

"You may. In fact, I think I would be a good idea if you did." Dumbledore suddenly smiled as he added, "I would also like you to know that you may wander the halls after curfew like Angelo may."

"Thank you, sir," Kiran said after a moment of surprise.

"You may also defend him how ever you see fit, if it is needed," Dumbledore continued. Kiran smirked maliciously.

"Thanks."

"And if you would like to, I will allow you to be one of Angelo's donors."

Kiran stared at him for a second before he started laughing; did this man know anything? "You obviously know little about us, Headmaster."

"I cannot claim to know everything, no," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Would you care to enlighten me?"

"A _Hunter_ donor to a _Vampire_? What a ridiculous idea! That's like asking a werewolf to do it!" Kiran sobered slightly and gave Dumbledore a cruel smirk. "Besides, what's to stop me from poisoning myself to kill him?"

"I should hope that you would not betray my trust like that," Dumbledore answered sternly. "Very well, it was a simple suggestion, one obviously made without all of the facts. Do you have any more questions for me?"

"No, I think you've made yourself quite clear, Headmaster," Kiran answered coldly, all his brief humour gone.

Dumbledore gazed tiredly at him over his glasses. "I am not the enemy, Kiran."

"I know that!" Kiran snapped.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "You may go now."

Kiran sent him one last scathing glare before he turned on his heel and stalked out of the office.

_Damn that old man and his meddling,_ Kiran thought all through his long walk back down to the ground floor. It would be nearly impossible to destroy Angelo without wandless magic, and while Dumbledore hadn't forbidden him from using it over the holidays, he'd surely get out of practice if he couldn't use it during school.

And how he acted like Kiran would need permission to defend Angelo from other threats, as if he didn't know that the Old Laws expressly forbid anyone from harming an unmarked Vampire! While no one but the Slytherins knew about Angelo, and while hardly anyone but the purebloods knew the Old Laws and few of them even followed them, if he called on them, no one would dare contradict him.

Besides, pureblood or not, every person in this school would easily be able to sense that Angelo was not someone to be messed with.

He heard the laughter long before he reached the entrance hall. Curious, he sped up and soon encountered a very strange sight. Angelo and the twins seemed to be doing some sort of circle dance, one the Vampire must have taught the others, since he was moving smoothly and the twins kept pausing to watch what he was doing every now and then. Aaron was standing by, looking amused, his foot tapping on the floor so the others would have a beat for their dance.

As soon as Kiran was visible to the group, Angelo stopped and rushed over to him, tugging on one of his hands to get him to move faster. "Come, Kiran, come dance with us! It's really fun!"

"Don't we need to go back to Slytherin before curfew?" Kiran said, hoping to get out of this.

"Curfew isn't for another hour," Aaron said, smirking slightly.

"Come, it will be more fun if we have more people," Angelo pleaded. "Aaron is no fun; he will not join us."

"I've been keeping the beat for you guys so you can actually dance," Aaron pointed out.

"Lucky him," Kiran muttered under his breath though he still allowed Angelo to drag him into the small circle. "What dance are we doing?"

"The Atern'ii," Angelo answered with a smile. "Do you know it?"

Kiran looked at him in surprise. "I do know that. Why are we dancing the Atern'ii?"

"I felt like it," Angelo answered.

"We were talking about how close pureblood rituals are to Vampire ones–" Fred said.

"–and Angelo mentioned dances so we wanted to learn one of his," George finished.

"How close are they? The two cultures?" Kiran asked curiously.

Angelo laughed as they began moving. "Not very."

* * *

An hour later, Angelo and Kiran stepped into the Slytherin common room together, Angelo teasing his friend about his exertion-flushed face. He stopped when he noticed that Kiran had frozen and looked around. Hardly anyone in the room; only two older girls and three boys stood there waiting; everyone else was gone. All of the older students were very big and very mean looking, and Angelo could easily understand why Kiran had stopped.

"You think a lot of yourself, don't you, Haemon?" sneered the biggest girl, obviously the ringleader of them.

Angelo gained a politely confused expression. "I am afraid I do not know what you mean."

"You can't just come strutting in here, expecting everyone to bow before your feet and do whatever you want," she hissed nastily. "Dumbledore and Snape might have been fooled by you, but you'll have to earn anything you want from us."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you," Angelo answered with a polite nod. He took a step toward the dorms.

"That includes food."

Angelo paused and stared at her. He didn't make an expression to indicate his feelings, but the temperature of the air around him suddenly dropped ten degrees. "Pardon me?"

"You don't belong here, Haemon," the girl leered. "This is a school for witches and wizards, not Vampires. Half-breeds aren't welcome here."

"I am as much a wizard as you," Angelo said calmly.

"Then how come you need donors?" she asked spitefully. "You're a Vampire too, and you're not welcome here."

"I see. Thank you for informing me." Angelo gave them a mocking bow and started off toward the dorms again. Before he'd taken two steps, one of the boys stepped in front of him, wand out. Kiran could have sworn that for a moment, Angelo's eyes glowed red. He wasn't surprised; he wasn't too happy himself. Snape had said just last night that Angelo was supposed to be left alone.

"What are you doing?" he hissed to the older students. "Don't you remember–"

"Please stay out of this, Kiran," Angelo murmured, cutting him off. "This is not about you."

"Heh, looks like neither of you knows how things are done in Slytherin," the boy blocking their way said with a low chuckle.

Angelo smiled coldly. "Forgive us for our ignorance. We are, after all, only first years. Please, tell us, how are things done in Slytherin?"

"Firstly, you're going to wait here until I dismiss you," the girl said with a glare.

"Very well. Please continue. What you have said so far has been most informative."

"You think you're so great, don't you? Like you're way above us."

"I do not," Angelo said simply, though his voice was perceptibly cooler. "What other problems do you have with me, other than those things which are misunderstandings and what I cannot change?"

She pursed her lips. "What's with your associating with those Weasleys? You've met with them twice a day so far. And that Hufflepuff, too. Don't you have any House pride?"

"Yes, I do." Angelo smiled as he continued, but this too was laced with hidden anger. "I am very glad I am in Slytherin. However, I was already friends with Fred and George and Aaron before I was sorted, and I see no reason to stop being their friend simply because we are in different Houses."

"And what's with the way you talk? Didn't you ever learn how to talk properly or are you foreign, too?"

Angelo blinked innocently. "Forgiveth me, milady, I was unaware that I spaketh any differently than thou. I shall remember to speaketh thine noble language in the future."

A smile touched his lips when one of the boys laughed. "I believe we are finished here," he said as he turned away to finally held down to the dorms.

"I didn't say you could leave yet!" the girl snarled, whipping out her wand. Angelo braced for her spell to hit, as he didn't know how to shield with his wand yet, but it never came. He looked over to find Kiran standing between them, his own wand out and a murderous look on his face.

"You should know better than to harm a Vampire," Kiran hissed, "if you're really a pureblood. You wouldn't want his Hunter coming after you, now would you?"

The girl had blanched at the pureblood comment but flushed angrily at the rest. "How are we supposed to know whether his Hunter's still around or not? He could have died in some accident by now."

"It is unlikely," Kiran answered softly. "Would you really want to chance it?"

"Who are you to be defending him anyway?"

"I am the one Dumbledore assigned to defend him if it ever became necessary," Kiran said simply. "That, of course, means that I will have to report any serious threats."

"Hey, we don't want to cause problems. We're just here 'cause she asked us," said one of the boys. Kiran smiled grimly at him.

"That is good to know." He turned his gaze back on the leader. "So, that's how Slytherin works, is it? If you can get to the top, you can do whatever you want, even threaten fellow students. And we just rose up a notch didn't we?"

The girl simply scowled at him as she stuck her wand back into the pocket of her robes.

Kiran nodded once and lowered his own wand. "I believe we're finished here. Go on, Angelo," he muttered to the younger boy behind him. Angelo gave him a thankful smile and hurried around the older students to disappear down the stairs to the dorms with Kiran following close behind him.

At the head of the stairs, Kiran turned and gave them one last, mocking smile. "And incidentally, the Headmaster informed me that Angelo's Hunter _is_ here at Hogwarts, so do watch your step, won't you?"

"Thank you," Angelo murmured when Kiran joined him a short way down the stairs. "You did not have to do that, but thank you."

"I did have to," Kiran argued. "Dumbledore really did tell me to keep an eye on you, and you weren't going to defend yourself at all."

Angelo merely smiled weakly and turned away to stare at the steps passing beneath him. For someone who had just outwitted the current leader of Slytherin, he looked surprisingly defeated.

"What's wrong?" Kiran asked after a few moments of this morose silence. Angelo sighed and looked up at him timidly.

"You do not mind, do you? That I am a Vampire?"

Kiran paused and stared disbelievingly at him. Had that girl's comments really affected Angelo so much?

"Of course not," Kiran answered truthfully after a moment. "Why would you think that would matter? You're a person like everyone else."

"It is hard, sometimes, dealing with people like her. Most of the wizarding world sees me as a monster without waiting to get to know me. Sometimes it makes me wish I was not born a Vampire at all."

Though he was stunned by this revelation, Kiran hardly paused to pull the younger boy into a brotherly hug. "You're so silly. Those people are just stupid. You shouldn't listen to them; you're perfect the way you are." _Except that I'll have to kill you someday,_ his mind added silently.

"Maybe I am being foolish," Angelo murmured. He was tense and uncomfortable with being touched so familiarly by someone he barely knew but it was nice to have someone comfort him. And Kiran smelled so _good_; if he wasn't careful, he'd end up Feeding on the blond any second.

"Yes, you are," Kiran agreed with a soft chuckle. "You're fine just the way you are. Don't you like being a Vampire?"

"I love it," Angelo said softly. "I'm really proud of what I am. It's when other people start acting like _that_–"

"Just ignore them, or tell them off like you just did. They're the ones that are monsters, not you."

"I feel like one right now," Angelo murmured, sounding rather ashamed of it. "I'd like nothing more than to drink from you, but–"

"You can if you want," Kiran said, then immediately cursed himself for it. What was he thinking? He was the boy's Hunter, for Merlin's sake! He couldn't just go offering his neck anytime Angelo was upset! But the damage was done; he knew he couldn't take back his words when Angelo looked up at him with those brilliant eyes of his.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Um, yeah, Dumbledore said that if I wanted to, I could be one of your donors. And since _they_ obviously won't be doing it..." Kiran tried to sound blithe and nonchalant, but inside, he was panicking. What would his father think if he saw his only son now? He was as good as disowned.

"I am so very glad you are my friend, Kiran," Angelo said with a thankful smile before he lowered his lips to Kiran's neck.

Kiran forced himself to stay still, no matter how much he'd like to run in the opposite direction, when he felt Angelo's fangs pierce his flesh. Then suddenly he was in heaven and he didn't feel like thinking at all anymore. How could he have been afraid of this? It was wonderful; he was floating along on a cloud, with no cares, no worries, no awful Fate screwing up his life. Just bliss.

And all too soon, it stopped and he found himself sitting back against the wall, blinking at Angelo as the Vampire pulled away.

"Did you have to stop?" he whined plaintively before he was fully back to himself. Angelo nodded with a slightly drunken smile.

"I took all I needed, and I could cause you serious damage if I kept going." He pulled Kiran up with him as he stood, supporting the other boy around the waist so he wouldn't fall. "I think we both need some sleep now."

Sleep sounded like a good idea. Kiran was suddenly very sleepy. He was still coherent enough to remember to murmur, "I'm suppose to spy on you, by the by."

"Are you?" Angelo said, sounding amused as he started helping Kiran down the stairs.

"Mmm, I'm supposed to make sure you don't start killing off everyone in Hogwarts." Kiran looked seriously at Angelo, or as seriously as he could being half-asleep. "I'm never going to tell Dumbledore if you ever do Feed on someone in the corridor."

Angelo laughed softly. "That is good to know, because it is very likely I will at some point in time."


	3. Part I Ch III Donors

Century Child

Part I: First Year

Chapter III: Donors

Somehow, by lunch the next day, the whole of Slytherin knew about what had transpired the previous night: namely, that two first years had outwitted the current leader of their House. Kiran had been dead on in his analysis of what that would do to their status among their Housemates; it seemed that overnight they'd become celebrities to the younger years. Even a few of the older students looked at them appraisingly now, when before they would have been practically invisible until at least fourth year.

Kiran rather enjoyed this spotlight and took advantage of it immediately. Angelo, in comparison, shied away from the attention and heartily wished that he could just be left alone. He ended up spending much of his free time that day wandering the lakeshore alone, and strolled the halls aimlessly the whole night, avoiding everyone and everything.

When Angelo and Kiran stepped into the Great Hall on Wednesday morning, it was to an explosion of sound.

_"__–__HOW YOU COULD EVEN THINK WE'D ALLOW IT, YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE WHOLE FAMILY, THE BOTH OF YOU__–__" _

"Sounds like the twins got a Howler," Kiran murmured, pointing at the redheads at the Gryffindor table. Their faces couldn't be seen from where the Slytherins were situated, but Angelo suspected that they wouldn't look horrified, but amused.

_"__–__SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ASSOCIATING WITH ONE, WHEN YOUR FATHER HEARD HE NEARLY FAINTED DEAD ON HIS FEET, YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THEY ARE__–__" _

"I wonder what they did," Angelo murmured as they sat down. "Perhaps she found out about what they did in Potions?"

"It sounds more like she doesn't approve of someone they've been making friends with," Kiran answered, shaking his head. "Really doesn't approve. You don't think there's a Malfoy here?"

"We would know if there was," Angelo said.

_"__–__I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO ENDANGER YOURSELVES LIKE THAT, AND I'LL BE HAVING A WORD WITH DUMBLEDORE ABOUT THIS, MARK MY WORDS!" _

"Must have been bad, whatever it was," Kiran said with a shrug, obviously not concerned. "Pass the sausages, would you?"

Angelo picked up the dish, then dropped it a moment later when a different voice suddenly filled the Hall.

"You wrote mum about him? Are you mad?"

Angelo stared at the standing form of Charlie Weasley in horror, remembering in that instant that he'd said he was a prefect and feeling a sudden sick apprehension about the whole argument.

"You know how she feels about them! What did you tell her?"

He couldn't hear George's response, but whatever it was must have been something Charlie had not wanted to hear. Even from across the hall, Angelo could see the older boy's face tighten and pale dramatically. Charlie suddenly grabbed his brothers by the arm and marched them out of the hall, leaving wondering murmurs in his wake. Angelo debated for a moment on whether to follow them, then rushed out of the room as well with Kiran on his heels.

Figuring that the Weasleys couldn't have gone far, they started their search with the closest chambers to the Great Hall. They didn't have to go far; only a couple classrooms down one of the close corridors, Angelo sensed a Silencing Charm on one of the doors and gently pushed it open a crack.

"–to be donors!" they heard Charlie shout. Angelo's eyes widened and he shared a brief glance with Kiran. Donors? "No wonder mum went ballistic! What'd you think she was going to do, give you her blessing?"

"We had to ask her, Charlie," Fred protested.

"Dumbledore told us we had to get her permission 'cause we're underage," George added.

"What made you want to be donors in the first place? You know how dangerous it is to be a donor to a vampire, especially a young one!"

Angelo gasped softly; so they really were talking about him!

"He entrusted us with his secret–"

"–so we wanted to do something for him, to pay him back."

"Oh yes, getting him thrown out in his first week is certainly paying him back," Charlie said sarcastically.

"Hey, we didn't want to write mum!"

"Dumbledore said we had to or-"

"Or you wouldn't be allowed," Charlie finished for him with a sigh. "All right, fine, just please don't write about him to mum anymore. She'll probably go to the Board of Education next if it seems like you're still hanging around him."

"Thanks, Charlie," Fred said with a grin.

"You're the best," George said, his expression identical to his twin's.

"You two owe me big time now," Charlie answered, trying to sound stern, though he was grinning as well. "Come on, let's go finish breakfast."

Kiran grabbed Angelo and dragged him back to the Great Hall even before the Weasleys started moving toward the door of the classroom, figuring they wouldn't want to know that someone had been spying on them. The two Slytherins slipped inside the hall even before Charlie's boot passed through the doorway.

"What are you doing?" Kiran asked in exasperation, because as soon as they'd sat down at the Slytherin table, Angelo had started digging though his bag for parchment and ink.

"I am going to write them a letter," Angelo answered vaguely. He pushed his plate out of the way for his parchment and set both it and his ink on the table. Kiran caught his hand before he could start writing.

"A letter saying what?"

"That I am grateful that they wanted to be donors for me, and that I am sorry their mother does not agree with their views," Angelo answered simply, tugging at his hand.

"You can't write that!" Kiran hissed. "Then they'll know we were eavesdropping on them!"

"And?"

"And the whole point of high-tailing it out of there before they saw us was so they _wouldn't_ know," Kiran explained heatedly. "I don't think their brother would like it very much."

"But I have to do something to express myself. I owe them now," Angelo protested.

"And you can do that in plenty of others ways that won't let them know that you know," Kiran said, finally letting go of Angelo's arm now that he seemed to be willing to be reasonable.

"Like what?'

"Didn't they ask us to put in a good word for them with Snape? You could do that," Kiran suggested. Angelo pouted and looked longingly at his parchment again before he started putting everything away.

"All right, I will do that."

Kiran shook his head, an exasperated smile on his lips. "You know, Aaron is right. You're really not a Slytherin at all."

* * *

On Thursday during dinner, a parchment tied with red ribbon appeared on Angelo's empty plate. Angelo eyed it warily, remembering what had happened the last time either he or Kiran had received a note like this, but had no choice but to see what it said. His eyes scanned over the words once before he broke into a huge grin.

"What is it?" Kiran asked curiously, leaning over to see.

"I am to meet my donors tonight," Angelo answered softly, reading over the parchment again. "I must go to the hospital wing after dinner."

"Already?" Kiran said in surprise.

Angelo nodded quickly. "I am so excited! I cannot wait to meet them!" He turned imploring hazel eyes on Kiran. "Come with me."

Kiran blinked at him, even more surprised. "Shouldn't this be a private thing?"

"No, I want you to come. You're going to be one of my donors too, remember, even if it is not official."

Kiran sighed, mentally berating himself again for that humiliating slip of tongue three nights before. He'd never intended to become one of the Vampire's donors; at least, not until he'd experienced it. Now he was sure he never wanted to experience that wonderful feeling again, for fear that he would become too attached to the boy next to him.

However, as Angelo stared at him with those eyes, he couldn't help but nod his head. "All right, I'll come. But you owe me."

Angelo laughed softly. "I already owe you, Kiran, for much more than this."

As soon as Kiran had finished (though he hadn't really; he was just tired of listening to Angelo whine), they left the Great Hall and headed up the stairs. Only when they were halfway down a corridor on the first floor did Kiran realize that they had no idea where the hospital wing was. Angelo did not seem particularly concerned by this, however, as he walked on purposefully, looking as though he knew exactly where he was going.

"Shouldn't we got back and ask someone where the hospital is?" Kiran asked after a moment.

Angelo smiled and shook his head. "I keep forgetting you are just a human. No, I have a very good sense of direction. It is an Incubus thing. We shall be fine."

"I know that, but still, with the dungeons and Professor Snape's classroom, you already had a general idea of where they were. Do you have _any_ idea where the hospital wing is?"

"Up," Angelo answered with a smile.

Kiran let out an irritated sigh. "You're impossible."

"No, I simply feel that your unease is unfounded. Trust me, Kiran, we shall be fine."

Kiran huffed softly but let it drop, unwilling to let his secret out by stating outright that he would _never_ trust Angelo because that Incubus intuition was exactly what could get him killed someday. Yet he had to admit, however secretly, that it could be useful as well when after hardly ten minutes of walking, they finally reached the hospital wing and hadn't taken one wrong turn.

Angelo secretly felt relieved as he pushed open the doors to the hospital wing. He did have an unfailing sense of direction, better than most of his kind, but it did still fail on occasion. On his trip back to the dorms from the Head's office on the first night, he'd gotten lost twice, but he would never mention that to Kiran. Somehow, he felt that he should try his hardest to impress his blond friend, though he hadn't felt that way about anyone else.

He paused as soon as he'd stepped inside, his eyes wide in surprise. A relatively large group of students stood there, ten in all he thought, nearly all of them older than him. He recognized a few of them as Slytherins, some that had only watched him silently and never opposed him, as well as several Ravenclaws, whom he figured would find the experience 'enlightening,' and one Gryffindor, who he felt was living up to his House reputation. What surprised him the most, however, was the fact that both Charlie Weasley and Aaron were standing among the other students.

He couldn't imagine why they were here. Hadn't the twins gotten in trouble just the other day for offering to be in Charlie's place? And he knew from their brief meetings that Aaron was incredibly psychic, possibly even a Seer, and people like that tended to be rather uncomfortable with having their energy sucked out of them.

"Oh good, you're here."

The two first years turned in surprise as a woman who was clearly the medi-witch bustled out of her office. She strode over to them with a kind smile, and Angelo smiled right back; she was the kind of woman who could be trusted instantly. Kiran obviously didn't think so as he still looked stoic as ever.

"You must be Angelo," said the witch in a motherly way, smiling at Angelo, "and Kiran. I'm Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. I'll be overseeing your Feeding sessions for the next seven years."

"It is very nice to meet you, Madam," Angelo said, giving her a slight bow. Madam Pomfrey suddenly seemed a little flustered and her smile widened.

"Such a gentleman!" she fawned, and Kiran rolled his eyes. Angelo simply smiled disarmingly.

"May I go meet my donors now, Madam?"

Madam Pomfrey stepped aside with a brief nod. "Yes, yes, of course. That's what this meeting is for, after all. For you to get acquainted with each other and to learn what regulations the Headmaster has set upon you."

Angelo didn't pause to wonder what those regulations might be; he immediately rushed forward to greet his friend and friends' brother.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked, completely bewildered.

Aaron gave him a pointed look. "We're going to be two of your donors."

"But...why?" He could not imagine that these two people he hardly knew would be willing to do this for him. It confused him even more than the amount of other students that were there.

"Because we don't want you to die, of course," Aaron answered, rolling his eyes. "I'm your friend, and after you trusted me with your secret, this was the least I could do. I fire-called my parents yesterday and they said I could do it."

Angelo nodded but frowned in confusion up at Charlie. "I thought your mother thinks I am too dangerous to be around."

Kiran hissed in warning and Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You heard that, did you?"

Angelo blushed faintly, realizing too late that he'd said too much. "Yes, forgive me, but curiosity is my fatal flaw. But I would not wish for you to trouble your mother."

Charlie shrugged. "I worry her enough without this. Besides, I turn seventeen in a few weeks; she won't be able to do much about it then."

"Then thank you very much," Angelo said sincerely. "I appreciate your help even more."

Kiran suddenly tugged at his arm, jerking his head toward the others. "Perhaps you should speak with your _other_ donors as well?"

"Oh, yes, sorry." Angelo turned and bowed deeply to the other students, startling several of them. "I am Angelo Haemon, an Incubus Vampire and first year Slytherin. It is a pleasure to meet all of you."

"_Way_ too polite," Kiran muttered, shaking his head in exasperation.

After barely a second, one of the Slytherins stepped forward and bowed as well, though he also extended his pale wrist, face-up, to Angelo as he straightened. "Bran Kenyon," he said, his pure white hair falling haphazardly in front of his tawny eyes.

Angelo briefly pressed a kiss to the Bran's wrist, eying him with surprise. "You have met a Vampire before."

Bran smiled mysteriously. "I have several very distant relatives who were Turned many, many years ago. They still keep in contact with my family. They're of a different tribe than you, but I figured the basic customs would be universal."

"What tribe?" Angelo demanded, instantly feeling apprehensive.

"The Dark Angels."

"Ah, I see." Angelo smirked sardonically. "I must admit I am surprised you would be willing to Feed me. Our rulers are at war."

"And I'm just a human with no intention of being Turned," Bran said with a slight shrug. "I don't care about your war."

"Good, because neither do I," Angelo said with a nod. He awkwardly took the hand of the other Slytherin boy when it was offered to him.

"I'm Alexander Kreios," he said smoothly. "I'm the current Quidditch Captain, Head Boy, and Prince of Slytherin."

Angelo was suddenly very confused. "What about that girl who I spoke with Monday night?"

"Mirabelle? No, she was barely even second in command. I certainly did not approve of the way she treated you." Alexander offered both first years a faint smile. "That was quite an impressive display, by the way. I admire people who stick up for themselves."

"Thank you," Angelo said, briefly bowing his head. Kiran merely stood by and didn't move an inch, unwilling to show anything more than the least amount of courtesy to these older students after what had happened the last time.

"Mirabelle won't bother you in the future," Alexander added with a casual shrug.

Angelo nodded again and turned to the next student, an Arabian looking girl in Slytherin robes. She smiled faintly but hardly moved aside from that.

"Shauna Basir," she said softly, not looking inclined to say anything else.

"Vashti Kishan," said the girl next to her with a small bow. "Shauna's very shy; it took her up until ten minutes ago to even decide whether she really wanted to come.

Shauna blushed faintly and looked away, wringing her hands nervously.

"I am glad you decided to come," Angelo said with a bright smile. Shauna smiled hesitantly back.

The only boy among the Ravenclaws let out a long, suffering sigh. "You lot are so _dull_."

"Oh yes, and you're _so_ exciting, Cole," Alexander said, rolling his eyes. "Going to lecture us on exactly why we have to be here in the first place? Or perhaps on why Vampires are so poorly represented in our community?"

"Shut it, Kreios," the boy said with a glare. He tossed his pitch-black hair out of his eyes and held a hand out to Angelo. "I'm Vincent Cole, Keeper of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and currently the guy with the best grades in school. Kreios there comes in a very close second."

"As he makes a point of reminding me before every class," Alexander muttered, glaring right back at Vincent.

"Only showing you that I'm better than all those girls you fawn over," Vincent answered as Angelo took his hand.

"And I've told you hundreds of times that I don't swing that way."

"And I've told you just as many that I don't care."

"Boys," said one of the Ravenclaw girls, moving between them. "Now is not the time to be fighting about this. Though really, Alex, you should just give him chance. He's been moaning about you all summer."

Alexander crossed his arms and looked away with a sulky expression.

The girl rolled her eyes and turned back to Angelo. "I'm Mandisa Noor, Alex and Vin's eternal keeper and mediator. I'll try to keep them from giving you too much trouble."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Angelo said with a laugh. "Thank you."

He blinked as the last girl stepped forward. She almost looked like a vampire herself, or perhaps a goth, but Angelo could feel that she was only human.

"Raven Aurelius," she said in a soft, low voice. "I'm related to a few vampires as well, though they're Elven, so we have the same Prince."

"Directly related?" Angelo asked curiously.

"Yes. One of my very distant relatives married a human and we've been diluting the blood ever since. I didn't inherit the gene."

"I see." Angelo smiled as he added, "Still, your beauty rivals many of our kind."

Raven blushed as she smiled back. "Thanks."

"And last, but certainly not least," said the boy standing next to Charlie as he stepped forward, "Dylan Conley, at your service."

'Even though I'm a Slytherin?" Angelo said with a faint smile.

"'Course. The other prefects are just wimps," Dylan said with a grin. "After all, we're in school, so it can't be that dangerous, right?"

"Only a Gryffindor would think that," Alexander muttered, rolling his eyes again. Angelo fought back an amused smile; Alexander seemed to fight with everyone.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, do you even realize why we're here? We're going to be giving up our blood and energy. That's very dangerous."

Dylan looked taken aback. "But, we're in school..."

Alexander sighed and sent Dylan a scathing look. "Yes, we're in school, and he is a _Vampire_. That's what Vampires _do_, Conley. You'd do well to remember that."

Dylan seemed suitably admonished and nodded before retreating back into the line again.

"Do you have to fight with _everyone_, Alex?" Mandisa said with a sigh, though she looked amused as well.

"Only when they're being stupid," Alexander answered simply. Both Kiran and Angelo snickered at that.

Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over, holding a long sheet of parchment. "Well, now that you all know each other, why don't we go over the rules?"

She conjured up thirteen chairs and gestured for them all to sit as she took one herself. Angelo sat next to her and pulled Kiran down on his other side. He was amused to see that the others congregated themselves according to House like they had in their line, with Alexander and the other Slytherins sitting on Kiran's side and Aaron, the lone Hufflepuff, on Madam Pomfrey's.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey started once they were all settled, "Albus said that you have the final say in who your donors will be, but that you should have at least five so no one gets sick, Angelo. We both agreed that ten would be preferable, as it would give each student a month to rest if you came every three days."

"That sounds like a very good plan, Madam," Angelo answered with a smile.

"Very well then. Is there anyone here you would prefer not be one of your donors?"

Angelo looked around thoughtfully and shook his head with an innocent smile. "No one, unless Dylan is still unclear about exactly what will happen."

Dylan scowled slightly. "I'm fine now, thanks."

"No one, then," Angelo said to Madam Pomfrey. "I like everyone here."

Madam Pomfrey nodded and turned back to her parchment. "It says here you'll need blood along with energy, correct?"

"Yes, Madam. In about equal amounts, actually, until I reach puberty, and then I will need far more energy. But that will not be for several years."

Madam Pomfrey nodded once. "Then I feel that half of your donors should be for blood, and half for energy. It would be much healthier that way. And perhaps split up your sessions too; have half be for blood, and half for energy. Is that acceptable?"

Angelo thought it over for several minutes before he answered, "I think I can handle that."

Madam Pomfrey smiled faintly before looking up at the other students. "Well, why don't we figure out who will do what? All of you who are more comfortable giving energy, move over there, and if you're more comfortable giving blood, the opposite side please."

Several people got up and moved, but not the ones Angelo had been expecting. Alexander stayed firmly in his seat on the blood side, though he seemed less enthused about it after Vincent moved to sit next to him, as did Kiran after hesitation briefly flashed over his face. Aaron and Charlie soon moved to sit between them and Mandisa. On the other hand, the other three Slytherins immediately got up and walked over to the opposite side to join Raven and Dylan. Angelo was almost disappointed by this, but consoled himself with the fact that the Prince of Slytherin had stayed.

Madam Pomfrey quickly jotted down their names and what they would be doing, then looked up again. "We will also have to come up with a schedule of what order you'll be coming in."

"I'll go first," Alexander said immediately.

Angelo quickly shook his head. "Actually, I need an energy person first..."

"Then I'll go first," Bran suggested. "And you can go after me, Alex."

Alexander nodded once, fighting back amusement when Dylan immediately raised his hand with the announcement, "I'll go third!"

After very little time, an order had been decided upon (one that excluded Kiran, as Angelo insisted he didn't need to be part of it) and Madam Pomfrey rolled up her parchment with a smile.

"Well, everything is settled for now," she said as she Vanished the parchment. "I think we should start tomorrow night-"

"Actually, Madam Pomfrey, could we start tonight?" Angelo asked hesitantly. "I haven't Fed since Sunday..." Which was a lie, but Monday night wasn't far off from Sunday, and he really was starting to feel famished with all this talk about how he was going to Feed.

Madam Pomfrey seemed surprised and a little embarrassed. "Oh! Yes, of course. If that's all right with you, Kenyon?"

Bran nodded without hesitation. "That's fine."

"Well then, the rest of you may go. I'll send all of you notices when you need to come back."

All of the older students but Bran got up to leave. Most flashed Angelo a brief smile as they left, Alexander going so far as to briefly ruffle the Vampire's hair before Vincent tugged him away. Kiran, of course, stayed put, at least until Angelo turned to him with an apologetic look.

"I am sorry, Kiran, but could you wait outside please?" Angelo asked softly. Kiran stared at him incredulously.

"You don't want me to stay?"

Angelo shook his head. "Feeding is something very private, between the Vampire and the donor only. I will permit Madam Pomfrey to stay, because she is making sure I do not go too far, but I cannot allow you to watch. I am sorry."

"Are you sure?" Kiran asked, then berated himself for it a moment later. Not even a week had passed and he was already far too attached to his Vampire. Why in the name of Heaven did he even _want_ to stay?

Angelo merely smiled and leaned forward slightly. "Kiran, would you want anyone to witness what happened Monday night?" he whispered. His smile grew when Kiran's eyes widened and the blond immediately stood up.

"I'll wait right outside the door then," Kiran said before hurrying out of the room.

"What did you say to him?" Bran asked curiously as Angelo moved to sit next to him.

"Only that I would be doing lots of embarrassing things he would never want to see," Angelo answered with a laugh. "Of course, I will not be. Oh, did you think I would be?"

Bran nodded with a confused expression. "You're an Incubus..."

"I will not feel the need for sexual energy until I reach puberty," Angelo explained patiently.

"I see." Bran laughed embarrassedly. "I'm not used to dealing with Born-Vampires. All the ones I know were Turned."

"Who are they?" Angelo asked curiously as Madam Pomfrey settled on Bran's other side. "I have probably heard of them if not met them."

"You probably have; they're old enough. Hamal, Sudi, and Kissa Kafele are the ones I'm related to, very, very distantly. And Minkah Astennu since he hardly ever leaves Hamal's side. And Hamal brought his master, Cyneric, by once."

Angelo laughed softly. "Yes, I have definitely heard of them. Who hasn't in our culture? They're all thousands of years old."

"Yeah, it's only too bad they're Vampires; they'd be excellent leaders of any country with that much knowledge," Bran said with a soft laugh. "As long as they've got self-control."

Angelo smiled faintly. "Most of us do."

"I'm glad to hear that," Madam Pomfrey said, sounding amused. Both students jumped and stared at her in surprise.

"I am sorry, Madam," Angelo murmured. "Would you like to start now?"

"Oh, don't worry yourself. Remember, this whole meeting was about getting to know your donors." Madam Pomfrey gave him a motherly smile before nodding once. "But I think it would be a good idea to start, yes."

Angelo dipped his head and shifted to get more comfortable, though his eyes were soon fixed warily on Madam Pomfrey's wand as she pulled it out.

"I'm just going to monitor Kenyon's vitals with it," she said kindly when she noticed.

Angelo smiled weakly and turned back to Bran. "Are you ready?"

"Any idea what it's going to feel like?" Bran asked curiously.

"Not for you, no."

"Couldn't hurt to ask," Bran said with a shrug. "All right, what do I do?"

"Place your hands in mine," Angelo answered as he held out his hand, palm-up. Bran awkwardly did so, looking confused again.

Angelo closed his eyes and reached out to open a small channel between them, smiling faintly when he heard twin gasps. He had heard that it was a beautiful sight to see a Vampire Feed on the energy of a wizard.

Careful to avoid Bran's magic, Angelo gently began pulling a thread of the boy's life energy into himself, slowly at first so he could gauge how much he could safely take. Immediately, he felt his hunger ebbing away and pulled a little harder. A soft sound fell from his lips as the energy filled him, and he smiled when he heard Bran let out a similar noise. The far sooner than he felt Madam Pomfrey expected, he closed the connection and dropped Bran's hands.

"That...was really weird..." Bran murmured, sounding a little dazed. Angelo laughed softly.

"Yes, that is everyone's reaction." He turned to Madam Pomfrey with a bright smile. "That is all I need."

"Oh, well, we're done then," she sound, clearly flustered. "Would you like some chocolate, Kenyon?"

"Yes, please, Madam Pomfrey," Bran said with a sleepy smile.

"Would you walk back down to Slytherin with Kiran and me?" Angelo asked as Madam Pomfrey raised her wand to summon a slab of chocolate from her office.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Thank you," he added to Madam Pomfrey as she handed him a large chunk of chocolate.

Angelo shook his head and smiled politely when Madam Pomfrey offered him some as well. "I am afraid I cannot eat it, Madam."

"Oh?" Madam Pomfrey said in surprise. "Albus didn't mention that."

Angelo glanced warily at Bran before he answered, "I am unable to eat any human foods. It is all poison to me."

"I see. Well, I'll be sure to remember that." Madam Pomfrey smiled motherly as she added, "You two should probably be going. I'm sure you both have homework to do."

They nodded and stood to leave, Bran staggering slightly. Angelo headed out first once Bran reassured him he'd be all right and smirked when he saw Kiran standing a short distance away, his back to the door. He began moving silently toward the other boy, planning to startle him, and but was startled himself when the blond turned a second before he could do so.

"You're done already?" Kiran asked, looking surprised.

"Yes. It really does not take that long," Angelo said, frowning inwardly. How could Kiran have heard him so easily? _No one_ heard him when he didn't want to be heard; otherwise, he'd never be able to Feed.

"It felt like a long time before," Kiran murmured, sending a furtive glance at Bran.

Angelo laughed. "It always feels that way, but it really is not long at all."

"I see. I had wondered..."

"Wondered what?" Angelo prompted after a moment when Kiran didn't seem inclined to elaborate. Kiran shrugged, looking faintly embarrassed.

"Why those older Slytherins didn't find us."

Angelo laughed. "We were hardly there long enough. They started down the stairs five minutes after we'd finished."

Kiran frowned slightly. "Oh. I don't remember much afterward."

"I know. You fell asleep as soon I'd helped you into bed."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't taken so much.."

"It has nothing to do with me!"

This argument carried them all the way back to the dungeons, neither of them noticing the slow moving figure of Bran as he followed them, able to hear every word that was said.

* * *

AN: To anyone reading _Background Secrets_ also: Remember the donors. They'll be coming up. 


End file.
